


I Don't Care (Yes I Do)

by ItWasUs (AnonymousObsesser)



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-06-08 20:43:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6872662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousObsesser/pseuds/ItWasUs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Scarlet Speedster, stealing? Oh, this he had to see.</p><p>[ON HIATUS UNTIL I CAN GET MY LIFE BACK ON TRACK AFTER FUCKING UP SPECTACULARLY--MORE INFO IN CHAPTER FOUR NOTES]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My "Trajectory Reactions" fic!!
> 
> Originally posted on my tumblr. Come say hi!!
> 
> deathloveshischicagopizza.tumblr.com

It’d honestly been a pretty good day on the Waverider. No one was injured or dead–at least, not anymore the former than last week, though the judging looks Jax had been giving Raymond all day indicated something soon to change on the latter front. Everyone was basically rested, getting a small break after two time jumps in quick succession. Everyone was of nearly sound mind, though with Mick, Sara, and Kendra in the same space that could change in an instant as well as in a multitude of different scenarios.

In short, it was calm. Peaceful. Quiet. Soothing.

Boring.

Leonard Snart was bored.

As someone who lived for the chase, breathed easier with a good challenge to occupy his time with, being alone in a spaceship without having a single job to do for the next few days nor anyone to speak with as everyone else recuperated…sucked. It really did.

Len had been lucky–Gideon had stitched up the cuts on his leg from a particularly nasty enemy, as well as healed a couple of splintered ribs, in just a couple of hours. That was days ago, plenty of time to get healed. And bored, obviously.

After a few more minutes staring out into the blank nothingness of his room’s walls, counting the individual lines for the eleventh consecutive time in the last quarter hour, Len finally rose from his bed. He debated for a moment, eying his closet door, behind which he knew hung his parka, right beside his cold gun as it was tucked into its holster. Shrugging, he let it be, slipping out into the hall in just his jeans and button down shirt, his boots softly thudding against the metal grate beneath them, his feet already used to muffling their sound.

His legs carried him to the front of the ship, where he could look straight out into time and space. They were in limbo, an odd sensation akin to floating along on a calm river, barely moving save for a gentle rock every few minutes as the ship remained alive but asleep.

And the Temporal Zone really did look like a river, actually. A bit more green than blue, though, but with sparkles like stars, like the sun reflecting off the water’s surface. The color reminded Len of eyes, really, of Bar–

He shook his head. No need to go there just yet. It was bad enough thinking about the lashing Scarlet would have ready for him when he got back–all _I told you so_ and _There’s good in you_ and _You could join our team_ and _Why in the_ hell _would you mess with time_ –without getting caught thinking about his damn _eyes_.

But, oh–too late.

Len sighed, settling down into his usual seat. His legs kicked up automatically, bending at the knees so that his back was pressed against the far arm in his chair and his feet hooked up underneath that of the chair beside him. His head leaned back, tilting so it rested on the back of his seat, his icy eyes facing just outwards enough to gaze at the green expanse swirling around the ship.

 _Barry would love this_ , Len’s mind suddenly supplied. Unhelpfully, might he add. Not that it wasn’t true–he probably would, the nerd–but it was completely irrelevant. As was the recognition that if Barry ever did see this, that grin would pop up on his face. The one full of elation and adoration, the one he showed everyone at some point. The one that made his eyes sparkle like emeralds–or, actually, they were too clear and bright for that, yeah, more like tinted diamonds, and–

Oh, thank God, that reminded him.

Lisa was probably worried by now.

He’d told her where he was, of course, where he and Mick were off to. Well, as much as he _could_ tell her. Which wasn’t much. He’d really only said they had a job–that they might be back in a few hours, days, weeks, months, he didn’t know. And oh, had Lisa seen straight through that. Leonard Snart simply wasn’t in the business of _not knowing_. He knew _everything_.

 _But not this_ , he’d told her. _It’s complicated and I don’t have time to sit down and explain to you, trainwreck_. But he’d told her he’d see her again, so that’s what mattered, right? He’d even given her a hug.

Granted, a small one, and awkward as hell, but it was a real sibling hug, and he was proud enough to at least have done that.

He hadn’t gotten to stop by anywhere else before he and Mick took off, not to steal anything at all, though he had popped into STAR Labs while no one was watching, hoping to catch the Scarlet Speedster in action at least before–

And now he wishes he’d stayed just a moment longer. Barry had raced through the doors as he was crossing the street, far enough away to not be seen by the speedster as he raced by, looking at everything in the slow motion way of his, but close enough to feel the wind, the discharge of lightning, the brush of static electricity. Close enough to hear his laugh, the one he nearly always let go of, just appreciating the joy of running at Mach Two. Close enough to smell the scent of lightning, of a storm, of desert wildfires. Far enough to want to be _closer_.

Len shook his head, his eyes snapping up from where they’d been drooping.

Actually, he wondered if Lisa had even thought to ask Cisco about Len–about what he might be up to. He doubted it. It’d been a couple of months since he’d seen her, but they’d been separated for longer. She wouldn’t willingly accept their help finding him unless she knew he was in danger.

Still, if she ever saw Barry while he was gone, maybe they’d be friendly. Only problem was she wasn’t supposed to know he was The Flash. She might know, though. Not that Len told her–they had an agreement, come _on_ –but she might have gotten it on her own. Lisa was nothing if not curious, especially over the things she thought he was obsessing over.

Which was ridiculous, by the way.

Len did _not_ obsess.

Not over Barry Allen, not over anything.

He just…liked having all the pieces. And if he spent all night every night looking for them and putting them together, well. That was just being thorough. And efficient.

Yeah. It made total sense, see? Lisa just couldn’t understand. She couldn’t see the big picture. Couldn’t appreciate the challenge. But she understood his methods of peace. No killing or drugs or anything, staying out of prison as much as possible. Lisa’s hands were always clean, her records spotless. Oh, she had tons of cases of _suspicion_ of theft, but none could stick. He made sure of that.

An odd feeling crawled into Len’s stomach. His eyes drooped again, blocking out the glow of the lights. He felt almost…sad? No, that wasn’t right, though it was close. This was deeper.

He was homesick.

Len couldn’t help but grunt at the realization, half sitting up before settling back down.

No use fighting it.

But he could sure as hell lessen it.

“Gideon?” he said quietly.

The voice of the Artificial Intelligence answered back just as quietly, only in this room. This moment. This conversation.

“Yes, Mr. Snart?”

“Could you pull up the latest news in Central City? From my timeline.” He paused for a half a second. “Please.”

“One moment, Mr. Snart.” The center console hummed, files lighting up the air as they sifted through themselves, lining up in a neat chronological row. “These are all of the files from every news outlet, dating from the time you boarded the Waverider to the current events of this week.”

The hologram was easy enough to touch from his position, so Len didn’t bother getting up, flicking his fingers through the files as he skimmed through the articles on his city. No mentions of Lisa or any of the Rogues really, other than a story here and there about The Flash apprehending one of the lesser known members. He really was the people’s hero. Everyone seemed to be loving him, adoring him, putting him on the pedestal he’d earned.

A few stories about the general population, yada yada yada…

Holy. Fucking. _Shit_.

Blue lightning. It wasn’t much to go by–could’ve been anything, really–and it was somehow buried in a nondescript newspaper that had little to no following–but…

It was following Barry. Not close enough to be coming _from_ Barry, but close enough that Len knew it was following the speedster.

And he got the feeling it could overtake the man in red anytime it wanted.

How was that even possible?

And then he saw the video. Felt the vibrations of the sinister voice–the volume was low, but that almost made it worse. Witnessed The Flash beaten, broken, bloodied. It was morbid.

Sure, he had gotten into plenty of tussles with The Flash. They’d hurt each other, yes. But never like this. Never to the point of humiliation. Of cripplement.

“Gideon–” Len’s voice was hoarse. He’d stood up at some point. He couldn’t remember when. He cleared his throat, his eyes slipping closed for a brief moment as he leaned on the console.

“Yes, Mr. Snart?” came the smooth reply.

Len took a deep breath, releasing it slowly and opening his eyes again. “Pull up the current footage of STAR Labs. I…” He cleared his throat again. “I need to see Allen.”

“Yes, Mr. Snart.” Was that a smirk in her voice? No, he must be imagining it.

A new video popped up, time stamp rolling in the corner. It was the STAR Labs Cortex.

For just a minute, he thought Gideon had messed up. That she’d accidentally given him old footage. Because there was someone sitting in a wheelchair, gazing up at the red suit, protected in its alcove. It was a man, Len could see that much, and he assumed it was Harrison Wells.

But no–the man turned his head to look at something off screen, and the light caught on messy brown hair instead of oily black and suddenly it was hard for Len to breathe and–

His eyes slipped closed again as Barry turned to wheelchair around, rolling over into the next room to talk with Snow.

 _This isn’t happening_ , Len thought. _Tell me this isn’t right. It’s wrong. So wrong. This isn’t how it goes–this isn’t how it ends. He’ll get better. He’ll get better and go back to being The Flash and–_

“Mr. Snart. Mr. Snart, you seem to be having a mild panic attack.”

 _This isn’t happening_ , he thought. His body slipped down the console so he was leaning on his elbows, his hands clasped at his forehead.

“Mr. Snart, if you’d visit the medbay I'd be happy to prescribe a mild sedative.”

_Tell me this isn’t happening. I should’ve been there, keeping the kid on his toes. I shouldn’t have left him to this–this monster. Why–how long has this thing been–_

“Mr. Snart, do you require a sedative?”

Len suddenly realized he was shaking. He wasn’t crying–Leonard Snart does _not_ cry–but his muscles were quivering with tension.

“Mr. Snart.” Gideon sounded a lot more demanding than he thought she’d been before. “Do you require a sedative?”

Len finally coughed, opening his eyes as the shaking subsided. “No. I don’t think so, Gideon.” He lowered his hands, glanced over the screen one more time–Snow was setting Barry up in the medbay, helping him lie down for bed. Len’s eyes caught on their affection. On the way Barry caught her hand, squeezing it before letting go. How Snow’s other hand curled in his hair for just a moment before she left, turning out the lights as she passed the switch. He thought he’d seen– “Gideon, would you switch to a view of the hall for me? Just for a second.”

A slight hum passed through the console, then Len could see Snow again. A man was waiting for her, and she curled her arm into his as they ventured out of the building. She was laughing, leaning on the man, obviously infatuated. So, a sibling relationship for her and Barry, then. Interesting. “Back to Barry, please.”

The kid was already asleep, but tossing and turning ridiculously. His bottom half was stationary, completely still, while his arms flailed two-dimensionally. His face was scrunched up, his head turning this way and that.

Len caught himself reaching out, retracting his hand quickly and swallowing.

“I think I’ve seen enough for tonight, Gideon.” Instantly, the screen shut off. Len coughed, his head dropping between his shoulders as he tried to relax his still-tense muscles. “I think I’ll take you up on that sedative, though.”


	2. Chapter 2

Nothing really changed after that. Well, Len started keeping tabs on 2016, making sure everything was okay, but after Barry healed and started saving the city again that kind of went out the window. Though Len still worried about the kid’s continuing nightmares.

At this point, it’d been a couple of months since Zoom’s attack. Another mission had just gone down with Team Legends (Len grimaced internally at the name), and they were all once again laying low to heal before another battle was planned. Len had once again healed before the others–except Rip, but then, he never really seemed to get that injured, the asshat–and was bored.

 _Colossally_ bored. _Magnanimously_ bored.

And once again, he found himself propped up between two chairs, staring up at the center console as security footage of his sister strolling through Central City at twilight flickered across the hologram. His lips tugged upwards, but he managed to quell the smile before switching back over to the news clippings. Firemen, policemen, damage control…yada yada yada…more Flash articles, but they were mostly mundane, saving little kids from being bullied or getting people to safety just before a car exploded. The usual for him.

 _So he really is back to normal_ , Len mused, his fingers still flipping through files. _Would he_ –

Len blinked slowly, train of thought speeding away without him. Quickly, he flicked a few articles back. Back, back to what caught his eye. He blinked again, the fluorescent lighting of the hologram plenty enough to highlight the surprise in his blue eyes.

At first, he’d thought he’d seen a story about Barry and Lisa facing off–the headline had Flash and Rogue with hardly a word in between, why _wouldn’t_ it be a fight? But no–this was almost _too_ good.

**_Flash Gone Rogue: Speedster Commits String of Thefts, Eyewitnesses Report_ **

A very slow smile crept up onto Len’s face. “ _Rogue_ …” he drawled quietly. “Cute.”

For just a second, visions flickered across his vision; Barry racing past security cameras, phasing through vault doors, running alongside Len and Lisa as they sped from a crime scene on their bikes. He could just see Barry’s grin, a slightly more cocky and sinister edge to its usual radiance. He could see Barry and Shawna, racing each other through safe houses on off days. Mark and Barry facing off, their lightning crackling against each other as they sparred, the friction being too much to coexist for too long without a fight, but still patching each other up afterwards. Lisa grinning at Barry as she stole his phone to get Ramon’s number. Hartley sauntering up to Barry for technical advice on his sonic gloves. Mick’s feral grin as he tested a new setting on his gun, only trying to fry Barry because he would actually _heal_.

Really. It only crossed Len’s mind for a second. Just, like, every second of every day. But at this point, his mind automatically shut the thoughts down, so quickly he almost got whiplash.

Then another thought occurred to him.

_What the fuck did we screw up now?_

Logically, yes, he understood that nothing they’d done could possibly have changed Barry’s alignment in the hero/villain equation. But, no, he couldn’t believe this. Something _had_ to have happened.

_Maybe Roy got a hold of Barry in a fight._

He shook his head, grinning again. Skimming the article, his grin only grew. The Scarlet Speedster wasn’t really doing anything but picking pockets, but still. It was crime. “Christmas has come early this year.”

Honestly. If Barry was going to steal, he could at least get some real money. He knew his limits, knew what he could get away with.

_Not that he would. Barry Allen is too much of a good guy to ever go bad. It’s saddening, really._

Len chuckled again, shaking his head. _It’s not him._

“Gideon?” He paused before continuing. “Can you pull up the security footage from during this robbery here?”

“Of course, Mr. Snart.” There it was again–that smirky tone of her voice. “Mr. Allen was present during this particular theft. Would you like to see where?”

Len raised a brow, leaning on the console with a smirk. “Sure, Gideon. Pull it up.” The video files shifted, changing into a view of a club as a red streak sped through. Len’s eyes narrowed. “Rewind to when Barry gets there. Please,” he added without thinking.

“Yes, Mr. Snart.”

There they were. Barry, his two scientist friends, his surrogate sister as well as her real brother…and some other girl. Judging from how Barry kept taking away her shots, she was underage. Seemed to be a romance brewing between her and the West boy, though, for as little as they interacted. Hmm.

Barry and Iris seemed to be particularly chummy for a little while. Len frowned, squinting. He thought he’d seen Iris say when they get married…something about their wedding, too, and dancing. Len’s eyes flicked across the screen, and– _oh, Ramon, why? That dancing is_ atrocious _._

Len felt sorry for Snow. She was just standing their, looking for a hero, and–

“Pause,” Len said quickly. The video paused instantaneously. He huffed. “Rewind.” The video skipped back by about two seconds. “Pause.” Len leaned in. “There.”

On screen, Barry was pushed aside by a patch of yellow lightning not unlike his own. The speedster was shorter than Barry, though a bit thicker. _Then again,_ anyone _would be thicker than Barry_ , Len mused. The kid was a beanpole. Actually… Len squinted. Dark shapes were floating near the top of the lightning. The face in the lightning only had an eye mask, so the dark wisps must be…hair.

Len manipulated the hologram, bringing the image in clearer. Sure enough, the figure in the lightning came into focus, a thin woman with curves and a short physique, hair flying out of her tight updo.

Len’s smirk grew into a grin. Then he laughed, the sound short and harsh in the quiet room. He couldn’t even look at the screen anymore, flicking the images away and sitting back down. He lounged for a moment, his boots tapping a beat on the seat they were sitting in.

Looking back out at the river of green outside the window, he couldn’t help chuckling. It quickly grew to laughter, then all out cackling.

“Snart?”

Len glanced up, still laughing a bit. “Hey, kid. What’re you doing up and about?”

Jax eyed him for a second before shaking his head and sitting in one of the empty seats. “Could ask you the same thing.” He raised a brow at Len, who was still chuckling to himself. Then he turned to look out the windows, slumping in his seat. “Couldn’t stand being in medbay with those three.” Sarah, Kendra, and Ray had all been confined to medbay along with Jax–the four had had a mission gone sour. Something about laser beams. Len had tuned most of it out. “There was _way_ too much sexual tension on the mission for me. Now we’re all stuck together.”

Len grimaced for a second before brightening again. “I’m sure they’d let you join if you asked, kid.” Everyone knew Ray and Kendra were screwing, and most at least assumed that Jax had feelings for the demigoddess. But Len was maybe the only one who knew Sarah had screwed Ray at some point, as well as grown feelings for Kendra.

He smirked at the other, watching his eyes go wide. “But hey, your life. I’m just out here for the view.”

Jax rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh. Like a couple of months ago, when I was was trying to work on the engine and the first thing that popped up on the data pad was an article on The Flash?”

Len shrugged, looking out at nothing. “So what if it was? I can’t check up on my city?”

“Hey, man, I ain’t judgin’,” the teen replied, raising his hands. “But you might wanna keep that snoopin’ on the down low–Hunter ain’t a fan of people messin’ with his ship, and your partner’s gettin’ tired'a yer–”

“Obsession?” Len smirked. “Don’t worry about Mick, kid. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It’s professional courtesy, not obsession.” He shrugged. “Flash keeps me on my toes. Gotta make sure he’s in shape for our next meet-up. Can’t have him letting me steal the Hope Diamond from under his nose without so much as a freeze-over–that’s no fun.”

Jax raised a brow. “So you’re just checkin’ out the competition, huh?”

“Exactly. I live for the chase, the thrill. The Flash provides a good challenge, interesting puzzles to figure out. It’s a game. I love it. And I’m very good at it.”

Jax frowned. “Right.” He glanced away. “Seriously, though–anything bad goin’ on back in 2016?”

Len raised a brow. “Not much–the kid and his team have things under control.”

“Kid?” Jax’s head whipped around. “You know who he is?”

Len smirked. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Right.” Standing, he shuffled back toward the entrance. “See ya, Snart.”

“Go get ‘em, kid.”

Jax snorted, pausing by the door. “Don’t think they need another wheel on that train, man.”

Len shrugged, his smirk growing. “Uh-huh. Ray is pining after both Kendra and Sarah, both of whom like both each other and Ray. Ray also gives you those puppy eyes of his, and don’t think I haven’t seen you give ‘em right back at ‘im. I know you and Kendra have some–” he waved his hands noncommittally “–thing between you, and Sarah is definitely open to polyamory, given what she’s told me.” Jax raised a brow, and Len shrugged. “Not at liberty to say, I’m afraid. But what I am saying, kid, is that it can’t hurt to ask.”

Jax jerked like he’d been shocked. Next Len knew, he was stammering out an affirmative noise and ducking out of the room.

Len looked back to the console.

“So, Gideon. Tell me a story.”

* * *

Sometime the next week, everyone converged in the control hub.

Len and Mick were leaning by the door, watching while everyone else mingled. Rip was giving some kind of speech, but no one was really listening. Sarah had an arm around Kendra’s shoulders, who was holding Jax’s hand, who had Ray’s arm around his shoulders. Every now and then, Ray would flick his hand out from Jax’s shoulder to tangle in Kendra’s hair or just grasp Sarah’s hand for a moment. It had taken a couple of days to work that relationship out, and while it sometimes got a little heated over who was with who, they were really ironing things out now. And everyone was really better for it.

After the meeting, Jax caught Len by the center console, waving at his lovers while they went to get some food.

“So,” he heard the kid mutter. “Checked up on 2016 again, yet?”

“As a matter of fact.” Len smirked, shaking his head. “Scarlet screwed with the timeline, apparently.”

“Thought that was our job,” Jax joked.

“Yeah, well. Who knew nerd-kid Barry Allen could bust the time barrier on his own when the eight of us need a stinkin’ ship to do it?” He shook his head. “Nevermind, I’m sure Rip did.” He turned from the kid, scrolling through news feeds like before. “I haven’t gotten through what all he changed, but he went back a year. Biggest thing seems to be that Pied Piper is now with the good guys.” He paused, shrugged. “Pity. Could'a used the kid’s tech.”

Jax scoffed, then quieted. He shifted from foot to foot anxiously for a second, and Len raised a brow. “Listen, man. In all seriousness, without this timeline stuff–”

“I know I gave you advice last week, kid, but you don’t have to return the favor.”

Jax frowned. “Actually, I think I do. So, I’ma tell you–Hunter’s givin’ us some down time in 2016. Most of us are headed over to STAR Labs–me and Kendra’ll probably be helpin’ out over there until we get called back, and Ray and Sarah will probably head over to Star City to help out. I don’t know about Rory, and I know you wanna go see your sister, but…” He cleared his throat. “Team Flash probably wouldn’t mind seeing you again.”

Len smirked. “I think you’re overestimating my welcome, kid.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But I know that Barry must trust you a lot if he knows you ain’t tellin’ his secret.”

“Barry would trust a total stranger.”

“True,” Jax conceded. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not real.” He paused. “Just stop by, okay? And don’t gimme that bullshit about not bein’ a hero, neither. Barry trusts you, and…from what I got from Caitlin last time we talked, he could use a buddy that ain’t gonna give ‘im the runaround, ya know?”

Len frowned thoughtfully. “I’ll think about it.”

“A’ight, man. You do that.”


	3. Chapter 3

Really, it was a no-brainer. Jax seriously didn't need to try _that_ hard to convince Len to pop over to STAR Labs.

That didn't mean Len could just _agree_ , though. This is _Leonard Snart_ we're talking about. He doesn'y just _agree_ to things. No, it was much more fun to let the kid sweat.

They landed in Central City, May of 2016.

He ended up going to see Lisa first, of course, for two reasons. The first was to see his baby sister after months away. He'd missed their nice banter, and he was sure Lisa had, too--even if neither cared to admit it. The second reason he wanted to see her first was so he could make sure he hadn't screwed up his business _too_ much while he was away. He didn't need to worry on that front--Lisa had hardly done any jobs the last six months, and the ones she _did_ do were flawless as always. She'd even took a couple of new Rogue recruits on one, pulled it off without a hitch.

The visit was comfortable, relaxed, _nice,_ for once.

When he made to leave, though, things got tense. Lisa had made to follow him out the door, which wasn't _exactly_ in his plans.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, blocking the door.

"Oh, I'm going with you." She blinked at him innocently, then grinned. "Oh, come on, big bro. You didn't _honestly_ think I don't know where you're going next, did you?"

Len rolled his eyes. "And where is that?"

"To see your toy, of course." He raised a brow. "Really, Lenny. You've been away for six months--maybe longer for you, actually, not quite sure about that--and I know you didn't stop by on your way here. You wanted to see _me_ first, check on your baby sister and, more importantly, your business, before going down to see your man in leather." She grinned again. "Don't give me that look, Lenny. I know you like him even if he _is_ too much of a goody two-shoes for you."

"I--"

"Besides," she continued over him, pushing him out the door. "I want to see Cisco again." Slamming the door behind her, she strutted past him to her motorcycle. "So, I'm going with you."

He _still_ almost said no, but then she pouted at him.

He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"Fine. But I'm not obsessed, nor do I like B-- _The Flash_."

Lisa eyed him, smiling like a cat. She hadn't caught his slip-up. "Sure, Lenny. Whatever you say."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short. I just wanted to let you guys know that I really appreciate the comments! Also, I don't know when the next chapter will be up--I'm kinda busy with TCOTOM--but that one probably won't be the last. I'm thinking this might be a seven-chapter fic.
> 
> In the mean time, you can check out my other ColdFlash fic. It's gonna be a long one, as well as probably the slowest burning slow burn that ever slow burned. But it's pretty consistent.
> 
> THANKS FOR THE KUDOS + COMMENTS!!!!!!!
> 
> Have a nice day, lovelies!


	4. Chapter 4

“We should get out of here.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Lenny? Leave before we even catch a glimpse of Team Flash? Not a chance.” 

Len met his sister’s glare head on, his own gaze cold. “Last thing we need is to get caught and put in that pipeline of his. Let’s go.”

Lisa pursed her lips, circling the console in the Cortex of STAR Labs. “I don’t think that’s what you’re afraid of, Lenny.” She glanced over his shoulder, smirking at the monitor he’d been fiddling with. “Then again, maybe it’s just enough for you to see your boy in leather. No need to actually talk to him, right?”

“Exactly,” he said calmly, flicking the monitor off. The video of Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, and Iris chatting it up in the hall of the particle accelerator disappeared. “Best if we just…disappear. Before they get here, preferably.”

She tsk’ed. “Oh, no. We’re staying right here. I wasn’t kidding about seeing Cisco again, you know, even if you are backing out on me.” Her lip curled into a pout. “What’s wrong, big brother? Got cold feet? Catching the _feelings_?”

“Of course not,” he snapped. “Look, the plan was always to pop in, sneak a peak, and get out. Not my fault you decided to come along.” He turned his back on her, waving dismissively over his shoulder and heading for the door. “Stay if you want, sis. Don’t expect me to rescue you from the hero speech.”

“What happened to you, Len?”

Captain Cold froze, stopped by a simple question. “What are you talking about, Lise?” he asked calmly.

“I guess I should be used to your random changes in attitude, but I honestly can’t say that I ever have gotten the hang of it.” A sigh. “I mean, first when we were kids. You were sweet, you took care of me. Then you just—up and left. Only to show up again when I was twenty-one, taking me under your wing again, teaching me the ropes. Then—I don’t know, maybe you got scared, or hurt, or angry that I was better and cleaner than you, and you disappeared again. Lenny, it was six years before I heard a peep out of you, and that was just so I could bail you out of a problem.”

“I—”

“No, Lenny,” she snapped. Her fingers dug into his shoulder as she spun him around, pinning him against the wall of the cortex. She snarled at him, her eyes alight with a fire he hadn‘t seen in years—since she was a teenager. “The fact is that none of that really bothered me. I could give you a million excuses for anything you’ve ever done, because most of them would work. You were busy, you wanted to keep me out of stuff, you figured I could take care of myself, you hoped that if you weren’t around maybe I’d get back into ice skating or something. I don’t understand your reasons any more than anyone else does, including you. But this, Lenny…”

She shook her head. “It’s more than just a challenge for you, I _know_ that. You don’t, apparently, which is fine. But even now—when you left on that mission, you seemed excited about _something_ , and I figured it was a big score that could go good or bad. But since you got back…I don’t know, you seem different.” Her eyes narrowed. “So tell me, Lenny. What. The hell. Happened to you?”

For a moment, they just stood there, Len’s back pressed to the metal walls of STAR Labs and Lisa pushing an elbow against his chest to keep him there. His sister was strong, stronger than most—if she didn’t want him to move, he wouldn’t. Unless he pulled his Cold Gun, which wasn’t going to happen.

Finally, he sighed. “The last four months have been…weird. Yes,” he added, already seeing the question. “Weirder than Central. And—okay, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I was traveling through time. And saving people. And I’ve seen things that are just…But there were things happening here that—affected me, yes. So I wanted to…”

“Oh,” Lisa said quietly, backing off of him. “I see.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smirk. “You saw what went down with that black speedster, wanted to check on lover-boy.” She shrugged. “Can’t say I blame you—if my boyfriend was getting dragged all around Central City by a demon, hey, I’d want to check on him.”

“That’s not exactly—”

“Still, I’d at least stick around long enough to actually _check on him_.”

“I’m not going to actually—”

“And I’m sure that Mr. Flash would just _love_ to hear _all_ about how you’ve been _saving_ people all throughout time.”

“That is _not_ ever going to—”

“Isn’t that right, Flash, darling?”

Len froze again, then turned slowly toward the entrance of the Cortex.

There, standing stock still in the doorway, was one Barry Allen. Sans Flash suit.

“Lisa?” the man asked slowly, his brow crinkling. “Lisa Snart.”

“Right in one, sweet-cheeks. I see you’re more than just a pretty face.” Her smirk grew. “Good. My brother needs somebody to keep up with him.”

And now Barry’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “How did you know I—”

“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that, honey,” Lisa said succinctly. “All you need to know is that your precious deal with my big brother still stands. He didn’t tell me. Figured it all out all by my lonesome. Didn’t even ask Cisco for a hint.” Now she pouted. “Speaking of which, which way did my _Cisquito_ go? Seems a shame to come all this way and miss him.”

Barry spluttered for a second, then cleared his throat. “Uh—he, uh—I think he’s in the workshop? We’re kind of—”

“Recovering from a demonic speedster?” Lisa asked innocently. “Oh, I’m sure. I’ll just pop on over and distract him for a little while, I think.” She cast a look at her brother. “You boys should talk.”

With that, she exited, pushing Barry into the room by his shoulder before disappearing down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. So...this is obviously not an update, it's really just me changing the notes to let people know what's going down with me. This same note is gonna be posted in the notes of every one of my WIPs, so if you're reading multiples, you just have to read on of them--it's exactly the same note.
> 
> So, I'm a fucking retard. Like, maybe the dumbest person on the planet. What's that saying? "The definition of insanity/ignorance is repeating the same actions and expecting a different outcome"? Basically, yeah. Either I'm stupid or insane, because that's what I keep doing.
> 
> Okay, here's the gist--I. Don't. Do. Technology. I don't. And technology doesn't really seem to want to cooperate with me, ever, either.
> 
> Basically, I took everything off of my phone--pictures, videos, documents, music, everything that wasn't an app pretty much--and put it on my computer. Not a big deal, I've done this several times when I'm working on renaming or organizing or whatever.
> 
> Except.
> 
> My mom got a NEW computer. That means we have three now (four if you count the desktop that nobody uses and that doesn't even work really). She says we're getting rid of the oldest laptop--which is the one I always use--because it sucks and they don't make updates for it anymore etcetera etcetera.
> 
> So my dumb ass is like, welp, gotta get my shit together, and I took everything I had on that computer--yes, everything, again--and put it on a SanDisk FlashDrive.
> 
> And NOW THE DAMN THING WON'T FUCKING OPEN. Everything is gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
> 
> Docs. Pics. 20,000 songs. Videos. Everything. My whole life--down the drain. I basically have to start over and I don't even know half the things I lost. I swear to every fucking god I can think of, if I have to answer for my screaming and crying one more time...
> 
> Anyway, yes, I'm a dumbass. I'm a crazy bitch. And I'm so, so, so, so, SO sorry for this shit. I know ya'll want to read this, but I don't have any of it anymore. It's gone. I have to start over. Honestly, half of my stories might not come back from this. I'll let you know. IDK what you wanna do, subscribe or bookmark or whatever you need to do to get updates, but it's gonna be a couple of months. If this had happened at the beginning of summer, maybe it would take less time. But I'm starting my first year of college, and updates were already gonna be slower even than my usual turtle-ness, so...
> 
> Anyway, I'm really, really, really sorry. Please don't hate me. I won't day it's not my fault, because it is, but I AM sorry that I'm disappointing everyone. Again.
> 
> Okay. Talk to y'all soon. I've got work to do.


End file.
